Optimizing Assessment Tasks for Institutional and Program-Level Accreditations: A Case Study of Accreditation Requirements of MSCHE and ABET

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Hossain ◽  
Hossain ◽  
Kouar
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tasks

scholarly journals A Dog of a Qcat: Collateral Effects of Mandated English Assessment in the Torres Strait

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beryl Exley
Keyword(s):  
Quality Assessment ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Authentic Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Performance Based Assessment ◽  
Collateral Effects ◽  
Torres Strait ◽  
Remote Indigenous Community ◽  
Assessment Initiative

AbstractThis paper critiques a 2008 Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) assessment initiative known as Queensland Comparable Assessment Tasks, or QCATs. The rhetoric is that these centrally devised assessment tasks will provide information about how well students can apply what they know, understand and can do in different contexts (QSA, 2009). The QCATs are described as “authentic, performance based assessment” that involves a “meaningful problem”, “emphasises critical thinking and reasoning” and “provides students with every opportunity to do their best work” (QSA, 2009). From my viewpoint as a teacher, I detail my professional concerns with implementing the 2008 middle primary English QCAT in one case study Torres Strait Islander community. Specifically I ask “QCATs: Comparable with what?” and “QCATs: Whose authentic assessment?” I predict the possible collateral effects of implementing this English assessment in this remote Indigenous community, concluding, rather than being an example of quality assessment, colloquially speaking, it is nothing more than a “dog”.

Using Blogs to Journal, Document, and Create Community

2013 ◽  
pp. 167-185
Author(s):  
Jennifer Munday
Keyword(s):  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Student Surveys ◽  
Assessment Task ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Positive Argument ◽  
Successful Execution ◽  
Supporting Materials

This chapter describes a case where learning and assessment were centered on the use of an online blog for sharing ideas; logging progressive details of an emerging artwork; providing supportive comments and advice from both teacher and fellow students; as well as, unexpectedly, creating a very strong community of practice. The case study discusses the reasons for choosing the blog tool, the features of the chosen blog tool, the elements of the assessment task, the outcomes of the learning activity, the supporting materials required for the successful execution of the task, and the responses to the task from the students through student surveys. Other issues this case study addresses are considering assessment tasks for the specific needs of students and assisting students who are reluctant about using technology. The chapter presents a positive argument for using a blog tool for reflective practice and students chronically documenting a progressive task.

Patterns of Interaction in Online Learning

2011 ◽  
pp. 84-99
Author(s):  
Kevin Downing ◽  
Kristina Shin ◽  
Flora Ning
Keyword(s):  
Associate Degree ◽  
Online Community ◽  
Discussion Board ◽  
Detailed Data ◽  
Interactive Communication ◽  
First Semester ◽  
What Works ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Patterns Of Interaction

This chapter describes a case study which examines detailed data related to student and tutor usage of an asynchronous discussion board as an interactive communication forum during a first semester associate degree course in applied psychology, and identifies ‘what works’ in relation to discussion board use. The case demonstrates how students gradually create an online community, but only if they are prompted in a timely and appropriate way by the course and assessment structure. Three distinct phases in online interaction are identified, and the case suggests these might be largely mediated by assessment tasks.

Scaffolding for cognitive and linguistic challenges in CLIL science assessments

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuen Yi Lo ◽  
Wai-mei Lui ◽  
Mona Wong
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Science Assessments ◽  
Linguistic Challenges ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Language Content

Abstract In Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) programmes, students learn some non-language content subjects through a second/foreign language (L2), and their content knowledge is often assessed in their L2. It follows that students are likely to face challenges in both cognitive and linguistic aspects in assessments. Yet, there has been limited research exploring whether and how CLIL teachers help their students cope with those challenges. This multi-case study seeks to address this issue by investigating the instructional and assessment practices of two science teachers in Hong Kong secondary schools. The two teachers presented an interesting contrast – one teacher incorporated both implicit and explicit language instruction in her lessons, so her students were well prepared for the assessment tasks; the other teacher’s instructional and assessment practices were heavily content-oriented, and it is not sure whether students mastered both content and L2. These findings illuminate CLIL pedagogy and teacher education.

scholarly journals Postcolonial Frameworks with Survivors’ Voices: Teaching about contemporary and historical forms of slavery and forced labour

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-90
Author(s):  
Sallie Yea
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Education And Awareness ◽  
University Level ◽  
Forced Labour ◽  
Science Subject

Much of the information for educating students and the public about human trafficking only involves survivors’ direct experiences as brief excerpts from more complex and detailed narratives. In this paper, I draw on a postcolonial framework to argue that sidelining survivors’ voices can bolster anti-slavery stakeholders’ agendas by selectively using survivors’ narratives to illustrate narrow constructions of slavery and forced labour. As part of education and awareness efforts, such approaches to understanding slavery and forced labour also perpetuate stereotypes that trafficked persons are powerless and lack agency. Therefore, I present an alternative educational approach to remedy these tendencies by viewing and discussing narratives by, and about, trafficked persons. This paper uses a university-level humanities and social science subject on trafficking and slavery, and related assessment tasks, as a case study to demonstrate the potential of survivors’ voices in teaching about slavery.

scholarly journals Examining Gender Differences in Written Assessment Tasks in Biology: A Case Study of Evolutionary Explanations

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. ar2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Rector Federer ◽  
Ross H. Nehm ◽  
Dennis K. Pearl
Keyword(s):  
Gender Effects ◽  
Science Assessment ◽  
Scientific Practices ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Written Assessment ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Assessment Bias ◽  
Item Types ◽  
Performance Bias

Understanding sources of performance bias in science assessment provides important insights into whether science curricula and/or assessments are valid representations of student abilities. Research investigating assessment bias due to factors such as instrument structure, participant characteristics, and item types are well documented across a variety of disciplines. However, the relationships among these factors are unclear for tasks evaluating understanding through performance on scientific practices, such as explanation. Using item-response theory (Rasch analysis), we evaluated differences in performance by gender on a constructed-response (CR) assessment about natural selection (ACORNS). Three isomorphic item strands of the instrument were administered to a sample of undergraduate biology majors and nonmajors (Group 1: n = 662 [female = 51.6%]; G2: n = 184 [female = 55.9%]; G3: n = 642 [female = 55.1%]). Overall, our results identify relationships between item features and performance by gender; however, the effect is small in the majority of cases, suggesting that males and females tend to incorporate similar concepts into their CR explanations. These results highlight the importance of examining gender effects on performance in written assessment tasks in biology.

scholarly journals Understanding Assessment Processes for Communicative Competence through an Analysis of Teachers’ Reported Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 116
Author(s):  
Fernando Guzmán-Simón ◽  
Juan Jesús Torres-Gordillo ◽  
Katia Caballero
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Iterative Process ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Primary School Teachers ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Oral Expression ◽  
Multiple Case ◽  
Data Source

This research addresses the types of assessment tasks, the assessment criteria, instruments and procedures of communicative competence used by primary school teachers in Andalusia. This multiple-case study drew on the experiences of teachers from four schools in the south of Spain. The data source has been the focus groups in which the teachers took part. The transcripts were analysed thematically by three researchers who devised a system of categories designed through an iterative process. The findings reveal the paucity of tasks used to assess reading, listening and oral expression. The study also shows the diverse problems faced by teachers when it comes to evaluating communicative competence. This paper highlights the need to rethink the curricular contents and the methods applied to assess communicative competence in primary schools.

scholarly journals Online Learning Effectiveness During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of Saudi Universities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mahyoob
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
P Value ◽  
Learning Effectiveness ◽  
Learning Preference ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Learning Factors ◽  
Assessment Factor

This paper is set out to explore the students’ attitudes towards online learning effectiveness using theBlackboard platform in three Saudi public universities (Taibah, Hail, and Al-Baha) during COVID-19pandemic. It examines the main learning activities which ensure the achievement of education qualityduring unprecedented online learning. These activities are online learning preference, efficiency,participation, achievements, success, and assigned assessment tasks. The survey-based questionnairemethod was used to elicit students’ responses regarding online learning effectiveness. The total numberof students who participated in the survey is 333 (entirely regular bachelor’s courses in differentmajors). The main section of the questionnaire contains several questions about leading online learningactivities. The coefficient relation of the p-value is highly correlated when tested using Pearson’s rand Spearman’s. The score of Cronbach’s Alpha is 0.93, which indicates (greater internal consistency)an acceptable level of reliability. The overall mean is 0.20, and the standard deviation for the sampleis 0.095. The findings positively emphasize the significant influence of online learning on students’academic achievements in most learning factors except in an assigned assessment factor, which isstill problematic in the online learning process.

scholarly journals Revealing shifts from mastery of knowledge to problem solving in assessments of a tertiary physics programme

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Alan Cornell ◽  
Kershree Padayachee
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Theoretical Physics ◽  
First Year ◽  
Science Students ◽  
Code Theory ◽  
Doctoral Level ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Good Grasp ◽  
Legitimation Code Theory

There is an increasing pressure on lecturers to work with two goals. First, they need to ensure that their undergraduate students have a good grasp of the knowledge and skills of the intellectual field. In addition, they need to prepare graduates and postgraduates for careers both within and outside of academia. The problem we address in this paper is the way in which assessments may reveal a shift of focus from a mastery of knowledge to a work-focused orientation. We examine this shift through a case study of physics and the sub-discipline of theoretical physics as intellectual fields. The evidence is comprised of assessment tasks given to students at different points of their studies from first year to doctoral level. By examining and analysing the assessment tasks using concepts from Legitimation Code Theory (LCT), we demonstrate how the shifts in the assessments lead students incrementally from a pure disciplinary focus to one that enables them to pursue employment potentially both within and outside of academia. In doing so, we also highlight the usefulness of LCT as a framework for evaluating the preparation of science students for diverse workplaces.

scholarly journals A Systems-Level Approach to Building Sustainable Assessment Cultures: Moderation, Quality Task Design and Dependability of Judgement

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 386-401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peta Colbert ◽  
Claire Wyatt-Smith ◽  
Val Klenowski
Keyword(s):  
Local Level ◽  
Teacher Assessment ◽  
Relevant Research ◽  
School Based ◽  
Assessment Tasks ◽  
Building Assessment ◽  
Quality Learning ◽  
Local Levels ◽  
New Framework

This article considers the conditions that are necessary at system and local levels for teacher assessment to be valid, reliable and rigorous. With sustainable assessment cultures as a goal, the article examines how education systems can support local-level efforts for quality learning and dependable teacher assessment. This is achieved through discussion of relevant research and consideration of a case study involving an evaluation of a cross-sectoral approach to promoting confidence in school-based assessment in Queensland, Australia. Building on the reported case study, essential characteristics for developing sustainable assessment cultures are presented, including: leadership in learning; alignment of curriculum, pedagogy and assessment; the design of quality assessment tasks and accompanying standards; and evidence-based judgement and moderation. Taken together, these elements constitute a new framework for building assessment capabilities and promoting quality assurance.

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